to talk to about that.’
His response was met with a swift punch to the stomach. Ryan doubled up, coughing and spluttering, but Harry hauled him back to his feet.
‘You’d better make this right you little maggot,’ he snarled. ‘If we’re not allowed our phones in class by Monday you’re in big trouble.’
He released Ryan and made to leave, but then turned back and landed a second punch in Ryan’s abdomen. He spat on Ryan’s back and left him lying on the ground. His two accomplices stepped on Ryan as they followed him out of the alleyway.
Ryan lay there until they had rounded the corner. Despite his fearsome reputation, Harry Hopkins didn’t really hit that hard. It was his mates who needed to be avoided. Ryan had learned that the best thing to do was to play up to it when Harry hit him, as it meant the beatings were kept to a minimum. He got to his feet and dusted himself off. One of the buttons on his shirt had refused to give in and torn a hole in the fabric. Ryan cursed at the thought of what his mum would say when she saw it. Still, she’d already confiscated the leads to all his favourite things – or so she thought – so there wasn’t much worse she could do.
He did his best to wipe the spit off his back and then went to find Jack.
He located his friend sitting on the same picnic bench they had occupied the previous lunchtime. Gibbo was there too, as well as several other lads from their year group.
‘Where’d you get to?’ asked Gibbo as he made space for Ryan to sit down.
‘Me? You were the one who buggered off with Stephanie McMahon.’
‘And? You would too if you got the chance.’
‘You do know she’s been out with half the year above us?’ Jack pointed out.
‘No she ain’t. She’s been with two of them, max.’
‘Well, if you consider that one of them was Harry Hopkins, you want to watch your back.’
‘Oh don’t worry about him,’ put in Ryan. ‘He’s got far more important things on his plate.’
‘Ah, so that’s where you were,’ grinned Jack, noticing the tear in Ryan’s shirt. ‘Needed some company did he? You two had a bit of a kiss and a cuddle while nobody was watching?’
‘Sod off. His mates were there too.’
‘Euuurgh, sick!’ cried Gibbo.
‘Shut it you morons. Anyway, he’ll be after you next if you keep trying it on with Steph.’
‘I ain’t trying it on. She’s the one who fancies me. I’m having to fend her off with a sharp stick.’
Gibbo mimed a parry and thrust.
‘That is the most pathetically untrue thing I’ve heard in a long while,’ said Jack, unwrapping his neatly packed sandwiches and taking a bite out of one.
‘What you got today?’ asked Gibbo.
‘Cheese and jam,’ replied Jack with a wink.
‘That’s nasty,’ said Ryan, taking out the sandwiches he had bought from the canteen during break. ‘Why don’t you eat some proper food?’
‘And spend three quid on some stale bread and brown lettuce? No thanks. I’ll stick with making my own.’
‘Where’s your usual pasty?’ asked Gibbo, noticing the unusually large quantity of green stuff in Ryan’s lunch.
‘Dad’s coming home,’ said Ryan simply. ‘Mum says I need to get in shape.’
‘Ha! It’ll take more than that,’ laughed Gibbo.
‘That’s funny coming from you. At least I’m in the footy squad.’
‘Mr Brackley won’t pick me because I’m too good,’ said Gibbo. ‘It would be unfair.’
Ryan and Jack looked at one another and shook their heads.
‘Gib, you are such a tool,’ said Jack gravely. He turned to Ryan. ‘So what did the big Double H want with you?’
‘Guess,’ said Ryan, fishing a piece of cress out from between his teeth and looking at it distastefully.
‘Something to do with the mobile amnesty, perchance?’
‘Got it in one. And what does ‘perchance’ mean, you tart?’
‘Must be one of them big poncy words they teach them in top set English,’ grinned Gibbo.
‘Well, it’s clear for all to see why you’re stuck in the doldrums,’ returned Jack.
‘Haha! Doldrums! Careful mate, you’ll use them all up!’
‘Yeah, you’d better save them for when Sophie comes back,’ added Ryan. ‘You’re gonna need them.’
‘Hey, I’m not sure how impressed she’ll be when you show her you can tie your own shoe laces. I think I’m safe.’
‘You two still aren’t chasing that lost cause are you?’ put in Gibbo. ‘It's obvious she’s frigid.’
Ryan threw Jack a quick glance and together they shoved Gibbo off the side of the picnic bench. He landed on a satsuma that one of the other boys had discarded, which burst and covered the side of his trousers in juice.
The peals of laughter that followed could be heard all the way across to the other side of the playing fields.
Ryan headed into his final lessons of the week in a much better mood than earlier that day. Friday afternoons were always taken up with double Design and Technology, which was basically an excuse for the boys to mess around in the workshop for an hour and a half. It was an improvement on the previous term, when they had been split between working with textiles and cooking in the kitchen. Ryan and his friends heartily agreed that these were girls’ subjects and should be kept that way.
Now they were in their element, or at least they would have been had restrictions on the use of the machinery not limited them to a selection of relatively harmless hand tools. Still, they had an enjoyable time creating bookends out of blocks of wood. Ryan didn’t actually own enough books to warrant a bookend, but he was grateful of the opportunity to be doing something practical for a change. He had fun gluing Gibbo’s workpiece to the bench while his friend wasn’t looking, while at the same time shaping his own to look like it had a ninja star embedded in it. In fact, he was having such a good time that when the bell went for the end of the day and he realised that he still had a detention to serve, it was quite a come-down.
‘I can’t believe Dazza’s getting away with this,’ he complained, as Jack and Gibbo escorted him to a classroom near the headteacher’s office; detentions were always held in the same place.
‘He’s not getting away with anything,’ said Jack. ‘He’s just postponing the inevitable.’
‘Yeah, but it would be much better if I had him for company rather than being stuck with a bunch of losers from the other years. Where is he anyway Gibbo? You’re his best mate. What’s he playing at?’
‘Dunno mate. If I had my phone on me I’d tell you. We’ve still got to pick them up before we go. I’ll text you later and let you know if you like.’
‘Cheers. I’ll probably send him some abuse later myself. Are you guys up to much tomorrow?’
‘Nope,’ said Jack.
Gibbo shook his head.
‘How about hitting the afternoon session up at the park followed by some games at yours, Butler?’ suggested Jack.
‘No chance,’ replied Ryan. ‘I’m grounded. Plus, my mum’s nicked the leads to all my stuff, so there’s nothing to do at my place.’
‘Except stare at your mum,’ grinned Gibbo.
‘Yeah I’d happily pop over for some of that,’ agreed Jack.
‘You two can get lost,’ said Ryan, pushing them both away. ‘I’d rather go to detention than listen to another of your mum jokes.’
‘Off you go then,’ said Jack. ‘We’ll find a way to catch up tomorrow.’
‘Later,’ said Ryan, and he headed into the classroom.
Forty-five minutes of writing lines later, Ryan had his phone back and was on his way home. Lines! What a ridiculous way to spend his detention! If Miss Mulligan wanted to have ‘I must show respect to women’ written a few hundred times she could have given him a laptop and he would have copied and pasted it as many times as she wanted. Apparently it was supposed to teach him something, but the only thing Ryan had learned was th
at he hated his teachers even more than he previously thought.
He had only just cleared the main gate and started up the road when, from seemingly out of nowhere, Daisy appeared.
‘Am I dreaming?’ asked Ryan ruefully.
‘What do you mean?’ she asked, confused.
‘You have a habit of popping up unexpectedly in my dreams,’ replied Ryan.
‘Well, I hope that’s a good thing. It would be sad if you didn’t want me around outside of school as well.’
Ryan’s mind flitted guiltily back to earlier in the week when he really hadn’t wanted her around.
‘Actually I’d be glad of the company,’ he said truthfully. ‘Have you been waiting for me all this time?’
‘Yeah. But I knew you were going to be a little while, so I went for a walk in the fields. How was your detention?’
‘You knew about that?’
‘Of course. Everyone knows about it. I do have other friends, Ryan.’
‘So you’ve seen the photo then?’
‘Oh yes, it was very funny.’
‘You weren’t disgusted?’
‘No, not at all. That’s what boys do, isn’t it?’
Ryan laughed.
‘Yes, I guess it is.’
‘Did you see Sophie or Billy today?’
‘No, I was just wondering what happened to them.’
‘Everyone was saying that they were ill. I told them they were just starving hungry and in need of a good feed; just like I was this morning.’
Ryan frowned.
‘You said that? What did people say?’
‘They looked at me a little strangely, that’s all.’
I wonder why? Ryan thought.
‘So, are you going to try and find out more about the Academy?’ asked Daisy suddenly, when they had walked on for a while